More young, Black Americans taking their lives amid lack of resources, study finds

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• Geoff Bennett:

  For years, experts have warned about a growing mental health crisis among America's young people. But within that trend, there are important signals about racial disparities.

  Between the years 2018 and 2022, the suicide rate among Black youth rose by more than 50 percent, for the first time surpassing white youth, who saw a 17 percent decline.

  Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro has this story from Chicago, the first of two reports. It's part of our Race Matters coverage.

• And a warning:

  This story discusses topics of suicide that many — that may difficult for some viewers.

  Rafiah Maxie-Cole, Mother of Jamal Clay: He had a personality that was so contagious. He was so in love with being a good person.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  From an early age, Jamal Clay wanted to be helpful.

• Rafiah Maxie-Cole:

  Some of my fondest memories of Jamal is remember him waking me up early in the morning so we can get to school a little bit before the kids, so that he could take the chairs off the desks and help the teachers prepare for school.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  He looked everyone in the eye and gave them his undivided attention. As time went on, however, Rafiah Maxie-Cole noticed changes in her son. He drew into himself, grew quieter, spent more time alone.

  Maxie-Cole knew Clay was teased at school over his body type. At one point, he tried to take his own life and was rushed to the hospital.

• Rafiah Maxie-Cole:

  A social worker, mother, traumatized, figuring out which role I had while my 12-year-old is in an isolation unit.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  Clay was ultimately released from the hospital, but in the years that followed, his struggles widened.

• Rafiah Maxie-Cole:

  Many of the struggles that my son dealt with was, of course, being a product of a single parent and not having the closest relationship with his father, trying to be the man of the house, because he was, there was no male, and not knowing how that goes.

  I remember him telling me: "I learned how to tie my tie, ma, by going on YouTube." And that broke my heart.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  On May 27, 2020, Jamal Clay died by suicide at the age of 19.

• Rafiah Maxie-Cole:

  It rocked my whole foundation. How do you go to work? One of your main jobs is to keep people safe. And you ain't got nobody safe at your home.

  I have so many questions, and he has all the answers.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  Between 2015 and 2021, more than 360 Black people died by suicide in Chicago. According to a University of Chicago study, the trends in that time largely mirrored what happened nationally.

  Black residents were the only group to experience significant increases in suicides among both men and women. Meanwhile, suicides decreased among white men and women. There was also a higher proportion of suicide deaths among Black teens. And the youngest person to die by suicide was an 8-year-old Black boy.

  Professor Janelle Goodwill co-authored that research at the University of Chicago.

  Janelle Goodwill, University of Chicago: I have had the opportunity to directly ask people, particularly Black young adults, why they have considered ending their lives. And one of the primary reasons they have pointed to is feeling hopeless about the future, hopelessness on an individual level, but also hopelessness on a structural level.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  Chicago has been called one of America's most segregated cities, and the disparities are striking. Even though Blacks account for fewer than a third of the city's residents, they make up nearly half of those living in poverty, 70 percent of people in jail, and three-quarters of all victims of gun violence.

  How much of those contributing factors, how much of those are at the baseline of the accumulative problem that you have?

• Janelle Goodwill:

  Yes, I think it's a really important word that you use, is cumulative. There's rarely one reason that leads someone to consider suicide. It's not just these individual-level factors like stigma, but these larger systemic or structural-level factors that are shaping an individual's ability to have access to clean air, to quality schools, to adequate health care.

  Do they have access to quality foods? And do they have a strong social safety net and support?

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  In 2019, the Congressional Black Caucus released a report on the national crisis, with recommendations for tackling it, including increased funds to research the rise in Black youth suicide. The National Institute of Mental Health has since granted millions of dollars for the effort.

• Janelle Goodwill:

  As a Black person, as a youth, you must have these blinders on, just like a horse in a race, because you can't look left and right. You just have to keep forward.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  Maxie-Cole notes her son died just two days after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis.

  She says living in a society rife with systemic and structural racism is like having a headache that never goes away. And she says a stereotype of endless resilience within the Black community can be taxing.

• Rafiah Maxie-Cole:

  I'm so sick and tired of being Black and got to be strong, be Black and be a strong woman. You can survive. I get. I'm tired. Everything in this house represents struggle. It represents somebody who came from up and under. And I get that. I lean on that.

  But, sometimes, you get mad because it feels unfair. It's like, my child is dead. But I still got to be strong, you know? I will never see my son do those things.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  After her son's death, Maxie-Cole created an organization, Soul Survivors of Chicago. She advocates for suicide prevention and mental health awareness, hoping to tackle what she sees as enduring stigma in the community.

  Soul Survivors also provide support for people of color who've lost loved ones to suicide.

• Rafiah Maxie-Cole:

  Welcome, welcome to the show, "Breaking the Silence," provided by Soul Survivors of Chicago.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  Maxie-Cole hosts a public access talk show, where she speaks to guests about mental health.

• Rafiah Maxie-Cole:

  You can see my life and what I'm doing with it to normalize the conversation about this happening and what happens when this happens and what we feel. I take on the charge and wave the flag. Does it hurt? Hell yes. Do I like it? Not always.

  But I'm here to say I will stand in that place, so that you don't have to imagine.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  Earlier this year on an episode of "Breaking the Silence," Maxie-Cole interviewed Noah Boynton, a 17-year-old from Chicago's south side.

  Boynton spoke about his own mental health struggles and the help he eventually received. Tomorrow night, we will share Noah Boynton's story and explore how a shortage of mental health providers is exacerbating this crisis.

  For the PBS "News Hour," I'm Fred de Sam Lazaro in Chicago.

• Geoff Bennett:

  And Fred's reporting is a partnership with the Under-Told Stories Project at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.